That is exactly what happened in Greece, where the Hellenic Rugby League was suspended. That is the body still recognised by the country’s government.

The RLIF should perhaps remind the Tongans that telling a coach to stand down and then denying any such instruction (if that is what happened) is damaging to the intellectual property of the sport.

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But the central complaints of the Tongan players so far made public do not invite RLIF interference.

Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images

The TNRL promised to keep a pot of $50,000 for the running of the national team but put it into grassroots development at home?

Firstly, the argument over a promise made and allegedly broken is between the people involved in the conversation.

Secondly, a governing body’s responsibility is to govern. Ploughing money back into development is a well-established policy! A national team is not a club team.

They changed the coach without asking the players? Well, once more, that’s got nothing to do with the international governing body. Nothing at all.

Big, well-paid professional athletes from Australia – who are at the top of the tree there, representing amateur bodies who administer a struggling sport elsewhere – have always created friction in international rugby league.

And sometimes that friction will cause a fire that burns down the whole house.

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Your period of over-achievement is followed by a period of under-achievement.

Steve Mascord has covered rugby league in 15 countries and worked for most media organisations that regularly feature the sport, on both sides of the globe. He started off as an 18-year-old cadet at Australian Associated Press, transferring to the Sydney Morning Herald just in time to go on the last full Kangaroos Tour in 1994. He spent three years at Sydney's Daily Telegraph from 2006 before going freelance at the conclusion of the 2008 World Cup. Steve is the author of the book Touchstones, host of the White Line Fever podcast, partner in international rugby league merchandise start-up Mascord Brownz, and proprietor of rugbyleaguehub.com, hardrockhub.com and hotmetalonline.com. He is married to Sarah and splits his time between London and Sydney.

The NRL’s representative round will explode to life on Saturday afternoon as New Zealand and Tonga square off in Auckland as part of the Oceania Cup. This is The Roar’s guide to streaming the match online, or watching it on TV in Australia.

A huge afternoon of international rugby league will come to life in Auckland as Tonga look to topple New Zealand in Auckland. The match is set to be played at Mt Smart Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 3:40pm (AEST) on Saturday, June 22.